Each project group will select three (3) research questions, ranked in order of preference from 1 (first choice) to 3 (last choice). There is no guarantee that you
will get your first choice, but we will make an effort to accommodate as many groups’ preferences as possible.
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1
Research Question
Does particle size determine porosity? Are coarse-grained soils (sand)
able to hold more water than fine-grained soils (silt or clay)?
Suggested materials list
Samples of silt, clay and sand, oven-safe pans for drying soil, balance or scale
2
Which textures of earth materials (soils) will have a steeper angle of
repose when poured into a pile, coarse- or fine-grained materials?
Sample of silt and sand, a screen filter (to separate clumps), oven-safe pans
for drying soil, protractor
3
Does limestone chemically and mechanically weather faster than
granite, sandstone, and shale?
Which types of faults had the greatest number of magnitude 6
earthquakes during the past 20 years?
Does particle size determine permeability? Do coarser particles (sand)
have a higher permeability than finer particles (silts, clays)?
Samples of granite, sandstone, shale, and limestone, plastic jars, small
quantity of sand (for abrasive), stopwatch, triple-beam balance
Mapping program, data on earthquake activity across the globe
4
5
6
Does the rate of evaporation affect the size of growing crystals?
7
Does the Earth-Sun distance affect mean temperature on Earth?
8
9
Are wind direction and particulate sources related?
What characteristics of the shoreline would cause the force of impact
and wave height of a tsunami?
What characteristics of a meteorite and its impact will have a greater
effect on the diameter of the impact crater?
How does topography influence the rate and amount of erosion?
10
11
12
13
14
How does infiltration through topsoil affect groundwater acidity? Is
there a difference in acidity when water infiltrates inorganic material?
How does acidity of a solution affect the rate of weathering of
limestone?
Has there been a change in the number of Atlantic hurricanes in the last
30 years?
Clear plastic tubes (poster mailing tubes would work if they are plastic), a
sealable valve for the end of the tube, filter fabric screen (available at home
improvement stores), samples of sand and silt
Salt, sugar or Epsom salt; several glass jars; heat lamp or clamp-lamp with a
light bulb;
Weather data website, Latitude and longitude measurements for numerous
locations on Earth
Compass, microscope, microscope slides, petroleum jelly, four-sided post
Aquarium, sand, metric rulers, wood to build wave-maker within tank
Pie pans, cornstarch or cake mix, “meteors” of different diameters, metric
rulers,
Sand, water, large tub or stream-table to create simulated “stream” (do not
wash sand or other soils down your bathtub drain!), oven-safe pans to dry
out soil, triple-beam balance, water tubes/hoses, large bucket, filters (coffee
filter or filter fabric), metric rulers, protractor
Samples of topsoil (organic) and inorganic soils, filter fabric, large-diameter
PVC pipe(s), pH test strips or an electronic pH meter.
Rock samples (several similar rocks), plastic jars, small quantity of sand (for
abrasive), stopwatch, triple-beam balance
Hurricane data center
15
16
Are there variations in sea level trends for Atlantic City, NJ and Duck Pier, University of Hawaii Sea Level Center, excel graph,
NC?
Real-time data from buoys in three different ocean locations, ocean
How is the conductivity of ocean water related to salinity?
observing systems,
Salinity Calculator (http://www.es.flinders.edu.au/~mattom/Utilities/salcon.html)